North to South

Okay, southbound hikers, it's crunch time.
The stretch from Vidette Meadow to the top of Forester
Pass gives new meaning to the word, "up." When
we first did this stretch we were traveling northbound
on a cool, rainy day. All we could think about is, "I'd
hate to have to hike up this
thing." Having now done
the whole trail in both directions, I realize that it's
a common downhill sentiment. For some reason, hiking downhill
over a long stretch creates the vivid illusion that hiking
the same segment in the opposite direction would be far
worse. We were prepared for a nightmare climb. Maybe it
was because we'd already come this far and our legs and
lungs were in fine shape, maybe it was because we split
it into two days, maybe it was those unidentified berries
we ate, but the climb was nothing like the travail we had
anticipated. From Vidette
Meadow,
the
trail
winds
up Bubbs Creek Canyon at a leisurely slant, never getting
too intense. Even past the Center Basin Trail junction
(where sits a large, well-used campsite) the incline never
gets severe. Steady, but not hard. When you leave the last
trees behind, it begins to get worse. The altitude is greater,
the trail rockier and the grade progressively steeper.
And if you haven't slept since Vidette, the exhaustion
grows teeth. The push to the crest of Forester Pass is
dramatic, rocky and relentless, but entirely worth it.
The views and the accomplishment are unparalleled on the
JMT.
Look, take pictures, gasp for breath, then start down.
From here south to Wallace Creek you hike without drama.
The
descent is long, uneventful and not as great (Wallace
Creek is a thousand feet higher than Vidette Meadow.) Along
the way, you pass Tyndall Creek (a tricky ford in early
season) and the glorious Bighorn Plateau, where you get
your first real glimpse of Mt.
Whitney. At last, the trail
settles into the pleasant vale where resides Wallace Creek.

South to North

Wallace Creek sits at the bottom
of a mini-canyon so the initial effort is an uphill one.
The trail levels out more
or less and snakes towards Big Horn Plateau, which isn't
very large in size, but tremendous in views. To scurry
past them without lingering would be a mistake...unless
you're chased by lightning, as we were in the summer of
2000. Our trek to Forester Pass from the Tyndall Creek
was memorable in no small part due to all of that very
bad weather we encountered on the way. It seems like a
blur because it was. We crested the pass at nine in the
morning, having started out on the trail at 6:30 to slip
beneath the gathering clouds. The approach to the pass
is gentle and long. The pass itself looms like an impregnable
wall, fascinating in that it provides no hint as to how
a trail actually gets up its face. But it does, slicing
through the talus to its final dramatic switchbacks. From
then on it's a downhill party, first through granite switchbacks
and then into a long sloping descent to Vidette Meadow
and its plethora of bears.